busy with bedtimes & birthdays

Yes, you read it right :)  We are busy over here with bedtimes & birthdays!!  After just finishing up celebrating Ryan's birthday at the end of December, we were on to my father's and then Nicholas'.  December & January are busy months for us!!  My plan was to move Nicholas into the bed the week after his birthday. Yes, I know, he's turning three, and in a crib.  Not to mention he fit the crib end to end.  But he never tried to get out & he liked it & all mommies know how much easier it is when the kiddos are confined to a crib :) Less worrying about rolling out, or getting stuck in the crack between the wall and the bed, or running around in the middle of the night :)  Unfortunately, Ryan put our plans in fast forward as somehow he managed to break the front of the crib Saturday morning.  Nicholas' crib had a small front portion that folded down when taking kiddos out and then pulled up & clicked shut on either side with latches when putting kiddos in.  Don't ask me how, but he not only broke one of the latches, but also a chunk of wood came off - BOYS!!!  Anyways, we spent the day safety-proofing the room for any late night wanderings and getting the bed ready.  This little man LOVED it & did so awesome - YAY!!



The next day we celebrated his birthday - Mickey Mouse style!!





And of course a birthday of my boys wouldn't be complete without some lego building :)



Amidst all the celebrations, I have tried to squeeze in some scrappy time :)  Finally I was able to get my Project Life cover page done.  I recently purchased the Cocoa Daisy Day in the Life January kit and used it to start my album.  I loved the mix of colors against the black & white pics.  Unfortunately as I was looking through my photos, I realized the ONLY family pic I had was from Halloween - totally sad!!  And we are not even all looking the same direction :)  Classic!!  Anyways - I still used it, along with 2 of my favorite pics of the boys.  I kept it pretty simple - which by the way is my goal for the year with Project Life.  I didn't stress about non-rounded and rounded corners.  My favorite card is the yellow one.  I added some hand-stitching and those gorgeous October Afternoon script alphas!!!  A little bit of tone on tone action :)



I shared a sneak peek of this layout last week - but here's the full reveal!!  This is my first layout with the January Noel Mignon Fresh Start kit.  For details you can head over to the blog post HERE :)



I will be posting this Thursday at Noel Mignon on my Project Life organization and tips so be sure to stop on by :)

*Sneak Peek*

My first layout of the year is going up on the Noel Mignon blog tomorrow:)  I decided to go 8 1/2 x 11 this year.  I'm excited to try scrapping in a new size :)  I am also working on organizing my Project Life "station" and will share some pics this weekend.  Here's my sneak . . .



Some birthday fun with my new Noel Mignon Fresh Start kit!!!  They are already sold out but Noel does still have a few spots open for March to June subscriptions.  You will NOT be disappointed in the kits!!!  They are filled to the brim with goodies of the latest & greatest in the industry :)  Check the details out HERE!!  Happy Hump Day people!!

The Magic of a Snowfall

"I am younger each year at the first snow.  When I see it, suddenly in the air, all little and white and moving, then I am in love again and very young and I believe in everything."  - Anne Sexton

I LOVE the snow, maybe if I lived in a different place that got snow all the time I'd feel differently.  But since here in the Mid-Atlantic it is usually hit or miss, it's pretty magical when we do :)  I will admit I stalk the weather channels and forums during the winter season & I might just be that person that stays up until the wee hours just to see the first snowflakes fall.  I'm weather geeky like that :)  And my kiddos - well they love it just the same!!

I have a beautiful Noel Mignon Fresh Start kit staring at me right now, but I'm in a creative rut.  Just trying to decide how I will document my memories in 2014.  I do definitely want to continue Project Life this year.  I was not as successful as I would have liked in 2013, but I did cover a decent number of weeks.  I take tons of pics so I do think I need to document weekly.  I love the new 6 x 8 albums popping up, but I'm pretty sure I need 12 x 12, especially since I really want to focus on this being my main source of documenting 2014.  I still plan on maybe taking 4 - 6 special pictures or moments from each month to do individual pages of & keep in a separate album.  I'm just stuck on whether I want to do 12 x 12 or 8 1/2 x 11.  What are your plans for memory keeping this year?  Project Life or traditional scrapbooking? or both?

In the meantime, I have been perusing the new goodies coming out for the Winter CHA.  Nothing like
window shopping to help with procrastination :)  Here's what has piqued my interest . . .

#1 Jenni Bowlin - I LOVE these gold rub-on stars!!  I'll be honest, I NEVER in a million years thought I'd like anything gold, scrapbooking or otherwise :)  I'm a silver kind of gal :)  But one of Noel Mignon's past kits had a number of gold products in it & I really liked using them on my pages.  Stars are a no-brainer & gold, well yes - I'll take that!

 

#2  I've haven't bought much My Mind's Eye in a while - but I really like this color scheme.



#3  Basic Grey - I've really liked some of their recent collections.  I also really like Kelly Purkey's work so this is another no-brainer for me :)  LOVE the papers & the embellishments - Mon Ami is right up my alley.

 

I also really am excited to see their Capture products this go around.  I love the look of this sneak peek - a little bit like Sassafras Lass :)



Oh & all these cute little alphas!!



 #4  Elle's Studio - I've been a fan of her work for a long time & loved when she started creating papers to go with all her fun tags.  The wood veneers she's coming out with her collections are awesome too!!



#5  Simple Stories - I really think I will like using some of the DIY collection for my Project Life - super easy to use & versatile for all types of memories :)



#6  Crate Paper - I haven't bought much of Crate Paper in a while.  But I do like the patterns in their new boy line.  Also the clear alphas are pretty cool!!



#7  Pink Paislee - I'm impressed this CHA with Pink Paislee!!  I like the direction they seem to be headed.  They had became a bit flowery & vintage for my taste, so I haven't bought any in a long time. However I do really like the bright, cheery color scheme of their Hello Sunshine!!



#8  Studio Calico - I'll be honest, their papers are not my cup of tea recently, but I do love many of their embellishments.  Their new basics line has some must-haves for me like these chipboard hearts & stars and the fun alpha & label stickers!







That's my favs for now!!  What are YOU seeing out there that is peeking your scrappy interest??

Top 13 of 2013

Yes, sadly it has been 3 months since my last post.  Life just kind of got in the way :)  But I am back - it's a new year & I did some dusting off & fixing up of the old blog!!  You'll notice my navigation bar on the right now with updated pages.  The sketch page is full of sketches from the past year & a half :)  I am planning to add more in as I locate them.  Unfortunately I was not the best at saving all my sketches in one particular folder on my desktop, so I'm having to do some hunting.  Anyways - on to my top 13 projects of the 2013!! Some of these will be new to you, as a few I never blogged about :)  Looking forward to keeping up with the blogging world more regularly in 2014 - Happy New Year everyone!!

tuesday . . .

So excited it's finally October!!  The past month has been super busy, getting the kiddos in the new routine of school and starting up Cub Scouts and Sunday School.  The brewery (my husband's new business) is in full swing at our house for the time being while construction will soon begin at the actual site.  Lots of test batches being created and tweaking final recipes for our initial offerings.  If you haven't yet, check out our Facebook page & website.  Exciting stuff on the horizon!!

As for me - well I'm a big ragged these days just running in a million directions trying to get everyone where they need to be & get things done.  I haven't been scrapping as much as I'd like, but did have a chance to play with the new Fancy Pants Designs lines this weekend.  They are AWESOME - great color schemes & the embellishments - just adorable!!  The first layout I created features the Happy-Go-Lucky line:

I decided to cut some fun leaves from my Silhouette & create a border along the top of the page.  Amidst the leaves I popped in an adorable flair from the collection.



Instead of using one of the patterned photo frames for a photo, I decided to place my journaling inside it.  A sticker and a few gorgeous buttons added a fun touch to the frame :)



My second page features more of the Happy-Go-Lucky line :)  In this page I showcased the struggles of getting a pic of my two guys.  Ryan is the perfect poser but Nicholas loves to say cheese and give the squinty half-smile :)  Such a ham!!



The new wooden phrases are AWESOME!!!  I added a chipboard button over top of the "o" and layered it all on top of one of the large tags.



The ephemera pack from this line if full of fun elements.  I loved these adorable leaves and fun photo corner!!!



Thanks so much for stopping by!!!  Have a fab Tuesday :)

monday

Ah, the start of a new school year!!!  Busy & hectic times but happy to be back in a "schedule".  We have a first grader in this house . . .



Doesn't he look so old here??  I had to snap another - this looks more like my little guy here - full of that cheesy grin :)



And I have one more headed to school this fall - preschool that is - Nicholas had his meet & greet this week.  He was able to meet his new teacher & classmates this past Wednesday.  He just LOVED the classroom & all the fun stuff in there!!!  He seemed really excited - although a bit serious in this pic right before we headed there . . .



So I will have three mornings a week to myself - what??  It's been almost three years since I had any regular kid-free time - I can't really remember what that's like.  I suppose I will be headed to my old hangout - Barnes & Noble - coffee and laptop time!!!  I have an online class I am starting in a week so it will be great to have that time to work on stuff :)

And, this is MY TIME of the year - I love fall and winter.  I'm so excited it's September finally :)  If I could just get rid of this hot, humid weather we are currently having.  I need some cool air, falling leaves, and fireplaces crackling away :)   (It is very possible we decorated for fall & Halloween today - crazy I know - we couldn't help it - September is here!!!)

I had a chance to dive into some Fancy Pants Designs goodies this weekend!!  My first layout features their Memories Captured collection.  I just love the color scheme of this line & the fun vintage embellishments.  I snapped this pic earlier in the summer when we had gathered with cousins.  This is of the boys making our red, white & blue strawberry treats - check them out HERE.



I kept the photo small, and layered lots of fun embellishments around it.



Here is a close up of my journaling.  I simply typed it out on vellum and then adhered it to the page by machine stitching along the bottom.



My second layout features the Down by the Shore collection.  Such a fun, bright color palette!!



I used one of their title pieces for my own title.  Tucked behind the title and photo is a Silhouette cut file meant for a 3 x 4 card.  I simply enlarged it and then machine stitched down the paper to the vellum.  I then added a number of the adorable fish rub-ons and a few sequins.



I kept the journaling simple and just stitched down the side to attach it to the page.  You may also notice the cluster of buttons in the middle of the pics.  I stitched down each button with twine :)



Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!!!  Have a great week & thanks for stopping by :)